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Question

I believe in God and that he will never give us more than we can carry, but I feel so distant from Him. I feel that he doesn't hear my prayers. I want His peace.

Answer

Thank you for contacting us with your heartfelt question. I am so glad that you are a person of faith and prayer and that you trust God not to give you anything that you can't cope with.

I am sorry that you are feeling distant from God and so lacking in inner peace. This can be a horrible feeling. However, it is good to know that (however we may be feeling) God promises never to leave us.

"I will never leave you nor forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5)

As you probably know, the New Testament was first written in Greek. The Greek word used for 'never' is emphatic and means 'Never, never, never, ever.' No matter how we feel, He is always with the Christian believer who has surrendered his life to Christ as Lord and Saviour.

His power upholds everything including your own body, and this means that He is closer to you than even your own breath. Speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Bible says,

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. (Hebrews 1:3)

Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life. (Psalm 54:4)

God has not left you. He hears your every prayer and cares about your hurting heart.

The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. (Psalm 145:14)

He is working now to raise you up and give you the joy of your salvation.

The psalmists poured out to God their depression and confusion when He seemed to be absent from their lives. Despite their struggles, they came to understand that He still loved them and had a purpose for their lives. Perhaps you could pray the prayer of the Psalmist:

Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. (Psalm 51:12)

Our issue can be that we are emotional beings and our emotions and feelings can sometimes mislead us.

It is possible that you may be feeling quite depressed. Please consider whether you need help from your doctor to cope with your depression. Sometimes, before we can deal with the deeper issues, we need simple medical intervention to help us cope.

You do not say what your problems are, so I need to explain that there are two kinds of depression. Usually, sadness is a normal and understandable response to illness, bereavement or shock. Sometimes it comes when nothing life-altering has happened but many smaller problems all crowd in on us at once, such a debt, broken friendships or work difficulties. That kind of sadness is common.

The second kind of sadness comes because of our brain chemistry, even when there seems nothing much to cause it. In this case, drugs from your doctor can make the difference because they can change the chemistry of your brain back to normal.

As you sort out the medical issues, you may also need emotional support from loving people. This is where joining and getting involved in a church can help greatly. I do encourage you to get more involved with your local church. It would be good to speak to a Christian leader or some other trustworthy person there about your question. I know they would be delighted to talk to you, pray for you and support you at this time and as you continue your spiritual journey.

God loves you very much and wants you to be successful on the deepest level possible. He does not provide cheap answers because He wants to use our circumstances to teach us to move to a new level of wisdom and maturity. He is preparing His children for an eternity of reigning with Him in Heaven. We need to humble ourselves and receive His answers, even if they are not the answers we wanted.

Most importantly of all, though you certainly write like a Christian, I want to ask if you know Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Lord? God loves us and values us, although we are sinners who have so often been selfish and unloving. He gave His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins so that we can be forgiven and set free.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

To all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12)

I wonder whether you have received Jesus into life? If you are unsure, simply admit to Him that you have sinned and ask Him to forgive you. Receive Him into your life by faith and commit yourself to follow Him.

"Whoever comes to me I will never cast out," promised Jesus in John 6:37.

Paul wrote to the Christians at Ephesus,

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love towards all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power towards us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. (Ephesians 1:15-23)

The power that lives in a Christian is far greater than the power of the devil or the world. We are the victors and we can claim that victory in prayer, supported by other Christians.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

In summary, God loves you and He is a God of peace and comfort. I encourage you to seek God in your life, place your life in His hands and be encouraged by His power in your life. If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, then I encourage you to do so today.

I hope this answer helps you to find peace with God through Jesus Christ. If you want to know more about what Jesus has done for you please watch the video on the main part of our site: Watch the video

I encourage you to attend a local Bible believing church and speak to the leader about your question. If you want to find a local church, our Church Finder may help you: Find a Church

Please feel free to submit a question to us or to read our answer database: Ask a Question

*All Scripture references are taken From The English Standard Version of the Holy Bible unless stated otherwise

*If anything in this answer affects you directly, then please feel free to call our confidential prayer line in the UK on 0845 4567729, where trained Christian volunteers will take your call and pray both for you and with you. If you are outside of the UK then you may submit your request for prayer on line at www.ucb.co.uk/prayerline